I was looking at a photo of Izagirre posted to the Tour of Romandie thread, and started thinking about how bikes might look if the UCI hadn't stepped in and stopped the evolution we were starting to see in the 90's. Bikes were starting to look pretty freaky back then! It would have to be pretty crazy at this point.

Really lament not seeing that evolution happen. It is cool to watch mountain bike tech progress–are they under any similar regulations at the World Cup/Tour/Whatever level? I don't follow MTB racing, though I am an avid mountain biker.

I don't know really. The stuff has to be able to sell to the likes of you and me, so I suppose that's the limiting factor. I always thought it strange that bikes are made of so many bolt-on non-integrated parts, but that is a factor of the oem manufacturing industry I suppose. The industry is divided into companies that make frames and companies that make bits. Why don't Campagnolo or Shimano make frames?

Look tried their frames with various integrated bits but it hasn't really taken on.

I think the lack of radical innovation at the pro level has suppressed innovation.

Definitely true but then I never regarded the Espada as something I would end up buying someday.

It's a bit like car manufacturers displaying their outlandish prototypes at auto shows, stretching the imagination. How many of those bizarre bubble cars and space age coupés ended up on the road?

Interesting discussion. My angle on it is that innovation in cycling is perhaps an unequal banquet. The examples you gave all concern frame shapes, with pretty standard groupsets and finishing kits of the day affixed to them, almost as an afterthought.

So what have we seen in component innovation since then? Electronic shifting, disc brakes, oval rings, 10-speed cassettes and Rotor's new hydraulic kit. Much of the rest has had to do with making things more aerodynamic (brakes in strange places, the micro-evolution of Shimano's perennially hideous STI levers) or slightly more efficient.

For wheels, we have seen the rise of deep section rims, hubs with ceramic bearings and some research on tyre width but nothing too disruptive.